Mount Raclette cheese

Description

Mount Raclette cheese

The Cheesemakers:

Orphee and Paula met in 2014, sharing an instant connection, much of which related to cheese, farming and food. Orphee, a native of France with a passion for food science and entrepreneurship, and Paula, the daughter of dairy farmers and a cheesemaker, have always had plenty to discuss and jointly dream about. They have woven their lives together for almost a decade now, with cheese always being a common thread. Although it took many years of dreaming, planning, and preparing to build their own cheese company, they never gave up on the idea that together they could create high quality French-Alpine style cheeses made with local Wisconsin milk.

Under the mentorship of Paula’s cheesemaker father, Jerry, Orphee successfully attained his Wisconsin Cheesemaker License, a one year short course, through the Center for Dairy Research at UW-Madison in 2019. He then studied the art and science of affinage (aging) in France under Laurent Mons at the world famous Academy Mons.

On the other hand, Paula, having grown up as part of the 6th generation on her family’s dairy farm in Manitowoc County, watched her parents build a cheesemaking company from the ground up using the milk from their farm. Having been in the cheese world since she was in diapers, she has a unique world of experience and knowledge built up that has contributed to where Alpinage is at today.

Finally in 2019, they found the perfect space in Oak Creek to construct a fully licensed dairy plant. This cave-like aging facility is where the magic of affinage, or the art and science of aging cheese, happens.